Article for suppressing foam and method for suppressing foam

ABSTRACT

A carrier strip in the form of a nonwoven, woven or knitted fabric made from natural and/or synthetic fibres, for use with foaming detergents, is loaded with antifoam active chemical substances. As a result of its compact packaging and ease of handling, no antifoam substances are released prior to use, prior to contact between the carrier and detergents. To this end, the folded carrier is packed in a sealed water soluble film and deploys its total surface only on contact with the detergents.

This invention relates to a strip-form support of natural and/orsynthetic fibers in the form of a nonwoven, woven or knitted fabricwhich is charged with foam-suppressing chemical agents for use withfoaming cleaning products.

One such support is known from Applicants' DE-OS 35 27 089. In thiscase, the support is charged at its surface, for example, withfoam-suppressing agents from the group consisting of paraffin oils,waxes, fatty acid esters, trialkyl amines, silicone oils and mixturesthereof. If a support such as this is introduced into a, basically,foaming cleaning liquid or the like, considerably less foaming, if any,occurs.

The packaging of a support of the type in question has so far remainedan unsolved problem. Depending on the quantity and nature of the activesubstance, the support has a moist, tacky or greasy surface, with theresult that the support sticks to the packaging material duringunpacking or the user comes into skin contact with the active substanceduring unpacking which can even lead to refusal to purchase the product.In addition, active substances can escape (for example throughevaporation) during unpacking of the support so that the useful life ofthe support is unnecessarily shortened.

The problem addressed by the invention is to provide a solution by whicha support of the type in question can be compactly and handily packedbefore use, i.e. before coming into contact with cleaning products, andis unable to release any foam-suppressing agents before use.

According to the invention, this problem is solved by a support of thetype described at the beginning in that, to ensure that it only developsits full effectiveness on contact with the cleaning products, thesupport is arranged in packed form in a compact, water-soluble film.

Packaging of the support in this way leads to a considerable improvementin its handling properties. When introducing the support into a cleaningappliance or the like, the user does not come into hand contact with thesurface charged with active substance, but only with the skin-friendlywater-soluble film. This film dissolves on contact with the cleaningproduct so that the active substance with which the support is chargedcan be given off to the cleaning product. The fact that the support ispacked in the film considerably reduces its space requirement. Under theeffect of the flow of the cleaning preparation and its own gravity, thesupport only unfolds its full surface after dissolution of the film andonly then releases its active substance.

In one particularly practical embodiment, the support is longitudinallyfolded concertina-fashion. This method of folding enables the support tobe unfolded particularly quickly and reliably, particularly when it isarranged in a tube through which foaming liquid flows.

In another embodiment, the support is transversely folded in severallayers. This embodiment is particularly intended for relatively widesupports to reduce the space requirement in the packed state.

In one particularly favorable embodiment, a fastener projecting from thefilm is arranged on the support. By means of this fastener, the supportcan be attached to a certain part of a cleaning appliance or to acertain part of a tube carrying cleaning product. At the same time,after its effectiveness has been exhausted, the support can be removedagain without hand contact by means of the fastener.

In one particularly simple and favorable embodiment of the invention,the fastener is in the form of a cord with hooks at its ends. One of thehooks is pushed through the support while the other is used forfastening.

The invention also relates to the use of the support described above forsuppressing foam in the intake pipe of a spray extractor. The use of asupport packed in this way in such an apparatus is particularlysuitable. A floor surface to be cleaned is first sprayed with a cleaningliquid using a spray extractor, after which the cleaning liquid isremoved by suction in the same operation. The arrangement of the supportin the suction line avoids foaming which would mean that the collectingcontainer of the appliance would be completely filled in a very shorttime and, accordingly, would have to be continually emptied.

The invention is described by way of example in the following withreference to the accompanying drawings which are all perspective viewsand in which:

FIG. 1 shows the introduction of a support packed in accordance with theinvention into an intake line.

FIG. 2 shows the support after its introduction and before foamingcleaning product flow throughs the intake line.

FIG. 3 shows the same embodiment as FIG. 2 during the flow of thecleaning product.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the invention before the flow of thecleaning product.

FIG. 5 shows the same embodiment as FIG. 4 during the flow of thecleaning product.

An elongate strip-form support 1 charged with foam-suppressing chemicalagents is packed in folded form in a water-soluble film 2. Arranged atone end of the support 1 is a fastening cord 3 which is provided at oneend with a hook 4 for fastening to the support 1. The cord 3 is guidedout of the film 2, an opening 5 in the film 2 for the cord to passthrough being closed by welding so that no air can enter the film 2.Another fastening hook 6 is arranged at the other end of the fasteningcord 3.

An intake like 7 of a spray extractor (not shown) consists of twotelescoping tubes 8 and 9. The tubes 8, 9 have conical ends 10, 11 forsliding into one another.

To introduce the support 1 into the intake line 7, the two tubes 8, 9are pulled apart from one another and the support 1 packed in the film 2is attached to the lower tube by means of the fastening cord 3, as shownin FIG. 1. After this attachment (FIG. 2), the upper tube 8 is insertedwith its conical end 10 into the end 11 of the tube 9 so that thesupport 1 hangs fixedly in the intake pipe 7. The intake line 7 could ofcourse also be arranged in a position differing from the verticalposition shown in the drawing.

In FIG. 2, the support 1 is shown in position in the intake line 7, nocleaning product having as yet flowed through the intake line 7. Thesupport 1 is arranged in the film 2 longitudinally folded like aconcertina.

FIG. 3 shows the support 1 in the intake line 7 with the cleaningproduct flowing through in the direction of the arrow 12. Throughcontact with the cleaning product, the film 2 has dissolved and thesupport 1 has unfolded longitudinally from its concertina-like foldedposition (chain-line folds 13) under the effect of the flow.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show another embodiment of the support, the referencenumerals relating to the support and its pack being provided with theadditional index "a". The support la which is wider than the support 1shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is longitudinally folded like a concertina and, inaddition, is transversely folded on one side and is arranged in thisposition in the film 2a. After the film 2a has dissolved under theeffect of the cleaning product (FIG. 5), the support la is unfolded bythe flow, the position of the original folds being denoted by the chainlines 13a and 14a.

The invention is not of course confined to the embodiments illustratedin the drawing. Other variants of the invention are possible withoutdeparting from the basic concept. Thus, the support could also beotherwise arranged in the film, for example in roll form or the like,and so on.

We claim:
 1. An article for suppressing foam in an aqueous foamingcleaning composition, which comprises: a natural or synthetic fiberfabric support, charged with a foam suppressing composition, packaged ina water soluble film in a compact form, whereby when the article iscontacted with the aqueous cleaning composition, the water soluble filmis dissolved and the support releases the foam suppressing compositionto the aqueous cleaning composition.
 2. An article of claim 1, whereinthe support, arranged in the compact form, comprises a support foldedtransversely into a plurality of layers, concertina fashion.
 3. Anarticle of claim 1 wherein the support, arranged in the compact form,comprises a support folded longitudinally into a plurality of layers. 4.An article of claim 2 wherein the support is folded longitudinally intoa plurality of layers.
 5. An article of claim 1 having a fastenerconnected to the support projecting from the film.
 6. An article ofclaim 2 having a fastener, connected to the support, projecting from thefilm.
 7. An article of claim 3 having a fastener, connected to thesupport, projecting from the film.
 8. An article of claim 4 having afastener, connected to the support, projecting from the film.
 9. Anarticle of claim 5 wherein the fastener comprises a cord with hookingmeans.
 10. An article of claim 6 wherein the fastener comprises a cordwith hooking means.
 11. An article of claim 7 wherein the fastenercomprises a cord with hooking means.
 12. An article of claim 8 whereinthe fastener comprises a cord with hooking means.
 13. An article ofclaim 1 wherein the fabric is a fabric selected from the groupconsisting of knitted, woven or non-woven fabric.
 14. A method forsuppressing foam in a device in which an aqueous foaming solution, mixedwith air, is passed through a conduit, which comprises: arranging anarticle which comprises a natural or synthetic fiber fabric support,charged with a foam suppressing composition, packaged in a water solublefilm in a compact form, in the conduit through which the solutionpasses; contacting the article with the solution to dissolve the filmand place the support in an expanded foam to dispense the foamsuppressing composition.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the support,in the compact foam, comprises a support folded transversely into aplurality of layers concertina fashion.
 16. A method of claim 14 whereinthe support in the compact form comprises a support foldedlongitudinally into a plurality of layers.
 17. A method of claim 15wherein the support in the compact form comprises a support foldedlongitudinally into a plurality of layers.
 18. A method of claim 14wherein the support in the expanded form comprises a strip of natural orsynthetic fabric.